Haydamaky ( uk, Гайдамаки) is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band formed in 1991. The music of Haydamaky is inspired by various

ethnic music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

from around the world, especially from various regions of Ukraine, such as

Polesia Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

, and

Transcarpathia Transcarpathia may refer to: Place * relative term, designating any region beyond the Carpathians (lat. ''trans-'' / beyond, over), depending on a point of observation * Romanian Transcarpathia, designation for Romanian regions on the inner or ...

. Other influences include the Romanian folklore, punk music sound of

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...

and by the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

of such bands like

Burning Spear Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots ar ...

and

Black Uhuru Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru ( Swahili for 'freedom'). The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick "Duckie" Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful per ...

. The name refers to haidamakas, 18th century Ukrainian paramilitary and rebels.

History

The Haydamaky began their career in 1991, shortly after

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

declared its independence from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Then the band was known as Aktus, and played mostly local gigs in the underground

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

music scene. Without a fertile, popular local music scene, Aktus turned to the sounds of

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

, and punk music for a fresh alternative. Members of the band were also attracted to the political impact that these genres had on their society. The idea was that through music significant social change could be possible. This gave a greater purpose to the performance of such musical styles. The discovery of these musical genres later became the key to their own realization of a specifically Ukrainian musical style. Haydamaky's hope is to forge an inherently Ukrainian popular music style, which looks back to its own heritage and traditions as a source for inspiration. With the addition of

sopilka Sopilka (, uk, Cопiлка) is a name applied to a variety of woodwind instruments of the flute family used by Ukrainian folk instrumentalists. ''Sopilka'' most commonly refers to a fife made of a variety of materials (but traditionally out ...

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

ist Oleksandr Yarmola and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

ists

Ivan Lenyo Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

, both known and respected in folk circles, the band increasingly incorporated elements of Ukrainian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

into their compositions. During the early 1990s Aktus has engaged in constant touring of Europe. Unlike most popular Ukrainian music groups who propagate Soviet style

Estrada Estrada is a Spanish surname and Portuguese term. Notable people with the surname include: * Armando Estrada, actually Hazem Ali, professional wrestler * Arturo Estrada Hernández, Mexican painter *Carla Estrada, Mexican producer *Chuck Estrada, Am ...

, Aktus sought to introduce elements of Ukrainian folk music through a cross-cultural mix including Reggae and Ska. EMI international records of London discovered the group in

in early 2001. Akta signed immediately to their label. At that time the band realized it was time to establish a stronger tie to their own culture. They changed their name to ''Haydamaky'', in honor of the eighteenth-century

Haydamak rebellion The haidamakas, also haidamaky or haidamaks (singular ''haidamaka'', ua, Гайдамаки, ''Haidamaky'') were Ukrainian paramilitary outfits composed of commoners (peasants, craftsmen), and impoverished noblemen in the eastern part of the ...

against the Polish

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

. During the last years the band has participated in various festivals such as: * TFF Rudolstadt – 2003 (

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) * "Litoměřický kořen" – 2002, 2003 (

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) * " Viljandi Folk" – 2003 (

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

) * "Sziget" festival – 2009 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

(

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

) * "Pohoda" festival – 2001, 2002 in

Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest municip ...

* "Huntenpop" – 2008 (

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) * "Tilburg Mundial" – 2007 (

) * "Amsterdamm Roots" – 2007 (

) * "Volt Festival" – 2010 (

), just to name a few. Haydamaky have recently performed at many club venues across Europe, including as a special guest at a concert of

Asian Dub Foundation Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and gui ...

in Bratislava, Slovakia. Other club appearances this year were held in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. In April 2004 the band released their second album "

Bohuslav Bohuslav ( uk, Богуслав, yi, באָסלעוו or ''Boslov'') is a city on the Ros River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) of Ukraine. Population: . It hosts the administration of Bohuslav urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Uk ...

". This time the group searched even deeper into Ukrainian folk music for material, ideas, and textures. The ensemble has invited

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist Vasyl Hekker, perhaps the foremost authority on authentic Ukrainian folk

style, to collaborate on the project. Banduryst-Guitarist Jurij Fedynskyj, of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

has relocated to

to join the ensemble. Also Ukrainian freestyle banduryst Roman Hrynkiv participated. And the band invited two young ladies from authentic Ukrainian choir " Bozhychi": Natalia Serbina and Masha Firsova, to do the back – vocals on the most of songs of the album. The "Bohuslav" promo is just on. In June Haydamaky are off on a huge concert tour, which starts by their concert in "Mazepa Fest" (

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...

, Ukraine) and will continue through the summer in

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. In October 2006 at th
WOMEX
World Music Expo held in Seville Spain, Haydamaky's release of their CD entitled '' Ukraine Calling'' released b
Eastblok Music
earlier that year broke into th
top twenty
of the World Music Charts Europe. Less than a year and a half later the follow-up CD ''

Kobzar A ''kobzar'' ( ua, кобзар, pl. kobzari ua, кобзарі) was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed bandura or kobza. Tradition Kobzars were often blind and became predominantly so b ...

'' once again on EMI/Eastblok Music, made headway on in the World Music Charts Europe when it made t
seventh place in March 2008
In 2008 albom "Voo Voo i Haydamaky" recorded in collaboration with Polish veteran rock band Voo Voo gained "golden" status in Poland. Since then the group are constantly touring. In 2012 Haydamaky are recording a new album. Band members at present: * Oleksander Iarmola - vocals, lyrics * Andrij Slepcow - guitar * Dmytro Kirichok - bass * Dmytro Kushnir - drums * Roman Dubonos - trumpet * Maksym Boyko - trombone Past members: * Ruslan Ovras - drums (2001-2009) * Ruslan Troshchynsky- trombone(2001-2004) * Ivan Leno - accordion, cymbals, vocals (2001-2012) * Volodymyr Sherstiuk - bass, Jew's harp (2001-2012) * Wlad Pawlow – guitar (2001-2002) * Wlad Grymalskyj – midi (2001-2004) * Oleksandr Demyanenko - guitar, mandolin (2002-2012) * Eugene Didyk - trumpet (2004-2009) * Sergij Brawarniuk – percussion (2004-2006) * Oleksandr Charkin - trombone (2008-2012) * Sergii Soloviy - trumpet (2009-2012) * Sergii Borysenko - drums (2009-2012) File:Haydamaky (UKR) - Sziget 2015.08.15 (2).JPG, Haydamaky at Sziget Festival 2015 File:Haydamaky (UKR) - Sziget 2015.08.15 (7).JPG, Haydamaky at Sziget Festival 2015 File:Haydamaky (UKR) - Sziget 2015.08.15 (3).JPG, Haydamaky at Sziget Festival 2015

Albums

− * 2002 – Haydamaky (Гайдамаки, COMP Music/EMI) − * 2004 –

(Богуслав, COMP Music/EMI) − * 2005 – Perverziya (Перверзія, COMP Music/EMI) − * 2006 – Ukraine Calling (Eastblok Music, Germany) − * 2008 –

(Кобзар, Eastblok Music, Germany) − * 2008 – Haydamaky Kobzar-Prolog (AntenaKrzyku/Lou&RockedBoys, Poland) − * 2009 – Voo Voo i Haydamaky (AGORA/KitonArt, Poland − * 2012 – No More Peace (Lou & Rocked Boys, Poland)

Compilations

* 1996 – Guitars, hearts and garnets (HARBA, Ukraine) * 1998 – No One Comprehends (

KOKA KOKA (980 AM) is an AM radio station, paired with an FM relay translator, licensed to Shreveport, Louisiana, and serving the Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area with an Urban contemporary gospel format. The station is currently under own ...

, Poland) * 1998 – Rock-Existence 1997 (ART-VELES, Ukraine) * 2000 – Rock-Existence 2000 (ART-VELES, Ukraine) * 2000 – The Legends of the Chimerical Land (JRC, Ukraine) * 2000 – United Colours of SKA ( Pork Pie/Vielklang, Germany) * 2002 – Pohoda Festival 1997-2001 (Agentúra Pohoda, Slovakia) * 2002 – Dobryi vechir, tobi (Christmas compilation) (COMP Music/EMI) * 2004 – TFFRudolstadt 2003

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1991 Ukrainian rock music groups 1991 establishments in Ukraine